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HISTORICAL VIEW OF TIIE

The last twenty years of Newton ’s life were spentalmost wholly in London . In 1722, and the followingyears, he suffered from several attacks of illness, and in1725, from gout. But in the intervals his mind re-verted occasionally to philosophical topics ; and we haveon record a remarkable conversation held with his nephew,Mr. Conduit, after his recovery from the last-men-tioned attack, in which he developed several ideas re-specting the nature of comets. But his time was chieflyoccupied with the study of the Scriptures. On the 28thof February, 1727, he imprudently attended a meetingof the Itoyal Society ; the fatigue brought on a renewalof his former attacks, which were pronounced to be fromcalculus. After several returns of pain, with intervalsof ease, he became insensible on the 18th of March, anddied on the 20th, in the 85th year of his age.

His body lay in state, and a public funeral took placein Westminster Abbey ; where a handsome monumentwas afterwards erected to his memory.

Newton ’s Philosophical Character.

The remarks which we have made, as occasionrequired, in the course of the review of Newton ’s dis-coveries, will have sufficed to point out the leadingpeculiarities of his character, and the distinguishing fea-tures of his method of philosophising. In the former,we have had abundant opportunity of observing thosesingular combinations which were unquestionably con-nected, in the closest manner, with the powers of thatpre-eminent genius with which he was endowed. Manyof these have, till of late years, been little known orremarked ; and it is not surprising that they shouldhave been misconceived, especially where a theory wasconcerned in the view taken of them. The extremerepugnance of Newton ’s mind to the publication of hisresearches, the weariness and disgust which he, morethan once, speaks of feeling towards scientific subjects,and the strong revulsion of his mind towards those